A little bit of Irish Luck
by Starlite1
Summary: Harm and Mac may wish for some peace and quiet once in a while, but Lady Luck has different ideas on the matter. Some new faces, as well as the old ones. I've finally updated! Chapter three is now up!, as of 204
1. Time to start

Disclaimer: Hey, I still don't own anything, unless you count my computer! I came up for the idea for this whist watching Riverdance, a celebration of Irish dance, song and the music of the world. And, In my opinion, Colin Dunn is a much better dancer than Michael Flatley. If you want to find out about Riverdance, go to their official website. By the way, hope that you like this. My first Jag ff. And just to add to the hell of it, we're sooo far behind down here. So sorry if I mix everything up.  
  
Colonel thanks to Ms. Frizzle for taking some time out of her holidays to beta for me, so if you want to blame someone, then blame her!  
  
A little bit of Irish luck.  
  
By Starlite1.  
  
Heartland apartment building,  
  
GEORGETOWN, VA.  
  
05:30  
  
The day dawned clear and bright. With the rising of the sun, Katherine rose, just as she always had done. Within minutes she was under the cool spray of the shower. Quickly she washed her body. As the water doused over her back, she involuntarily winced at the pain that lanced through her shoulder. She finished and rinsed off the soap, before getting out, grabbing her towel, her feet padding on the dark blue tiling back to her bedroom, where a crisp uniform lay neatly on her bed. Draws opened and shut, cupboard doors slid, and she sighed. In the early light, she pulled on her blazer. On the collar, the rank insignia flashed. Her feet were still bare as she once again padded back to the bathroom. A small sigh escaped her lips, as she looked at the face in the mirror. It was not so long ago that a young and disorganized face of a teenager would have looked back at her. Now, the face that stared back was one that had been to hell and back. Her eyes which could never decide which colors they were now showed the pain and suffering from the trip to hell and back. Her fingers deftly braided her dark blonde hair. A touch of lipstick, and she was ready to go. She grabbed her new briefcase, put on her cover and exited her apartment. On the way out, she grabbed a cereal bar from her cramped kitchen. Quickly Katherine got into her Mazda RX 8. Silently the car's wheels carried her along the street. Out along the highway she drove, on into the future. She was ready to face the world again.  
  
********  
  
JAG HEADQUARTERS,  
  
FALLS CHURCH, VA.  
  
08:00  
  
When Katherine first entered the office of the Judge Advocate General, She was greeted with the sight of a marine and a Navy officer seated side by side at his desk, both arguing heatedly. Patiently, a man with a bald crown patiently listened as his two officers debated their different points of view. Just as the argument began to become dire, she gently tapped on the door. At the sound of her knock, the two officers spun around. The man stood up behind his desk.  
  
"Commander Katherine Clovier reporting as ordered, Sir!" she said, snapping to attention.  
  
"At ease." The admiral smiled, "I'm Admiral AJ Chegwidden, and these are Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, and Commander Harmon Rabb."  
  
Mac reached out a hand, "More commonly known as Mac."  
  
"And I'm otherwise known as Harm." He added, also extending a hand.  
  
She spoke nervously, "For me, it's just plain Katherine."  
  
"Well, welcome to JAG. Now onto other matters.."  
  
*********** Katherine thanked Tiner, who had shown her to her new office. It was filled with boxes and packing containers, all waiting for her to come along and give them a new home. There was a large window right behind where the desk was already set up. A bookcase lined one wall, with a filing cabinet next to it. A few mounting hooks were up around the room. Yep, she thought to herself, this is going to be fun.  
  
*****************  
  
Comdr. Clovier's office,  
  
JAG HQ,  
  
FALLS CHURCH, VA.  
  
11:14  
  
There was a knock at her door. Katherine looked up from her unpacking, "Come in, please!." She called out. A young man stood at her door, wearing a standard Navy uniform. The rank insignia indicated him as a Commander. His face was young and open, with rusty blonde hair streaked with ginger. He had eyes that were a deep, dark green. They made almost instantly want to trust him.  
  
"Good morning, sir. How can I help you?" she said.  
  
"I'm William Sanders. I'm here about the Colorado case. But it looks as if your busy at the moment..."  
  
"What? Sorry, I haven't even got up to the stage of even considering looking into some of the files which have somehow been stacked up onto my desk, sir." She apologized guiltily.  
  
"Well, it's the thick one which makes other files look pint-size. By the way, could you please drop the sirs, cause they make me feel old. Just call me Will. By the way, if you want, I can come back later, after you've had a bit of a chance to tidy up..."  
  
"Doesn't matter. If you don't mind the mess in here, then we can double up on the effort. You can tell me about the case, and I'll try to create at least a temporary ordered chaos in here. So what are the main points of the case. By the way, take a seat, if you can find one." She suggested.  
  
"I like the sound of that. Now, the Colorado case is, at the moment, a bit of a hellish tangle of insanity. We've been given the job of defending." He stated.  
  
"So what are the mains of the case? I mean, what's brought this up to the stage where it's come to be a full JAG hearing?" she said, pulling out a clock from within a carton perched on her desk. She placed it up on one of the hooks.  
  
"Well, the fact that there were numerous casualties.. I really need to go through from the start. About two months ago, the U.S.S Colorado was out on standard duty in the Gulf...  
  
USS COLORADO, on duty in the Gulf.  
  
Location Classified  
  
12 December, 2003.  
  
1200 Zulu  
  
"Hey, Mike, how long is it until we're due back at base?" Captain Sam Strathown asked his first officer, a grin pervading over his tired face. Six months in the Gulf never did anyone any good.  
  
"32 hours, 45 minutes and 30 seconds as of..now, sir!" Lt. Comdr. Mike Richardson the communications officer called out as the bridge raised a cheer. The first officer Kyle Varian looked up with small grin.  
  
"Good to hear. Now let's continue home, straight and true." Captain Strathown ordered. The Colorado's bow slowly began to pull it's bow away from the coast of the gulf, and began on the course home. He turned as he went towards the hatch, "and if you don't mind, I'm going to get a quick cup of coffee. You have the bridge, Number one."  
  
"Aye, Sir." Varian said. She took her place in the command chair, her blonde hair bouncing as she sat down.  
  
Half an hour later, sirens were blaring out across the ship. Captain Strathown ran up onto the bridge. "What the hell?"  
  
Varian quickly jumped out of the command center, and headed back to her post at engineering.  
  
"the hell is two missiles on an intercept course, Sir. And as for arrival time, we've got less than two minutes!" reported Tammy 'Click' Crolleini , the radar expert on board.  
  
"Where did they come out of hiding from?" he demanded.  
  
"haven't got a clue, sir."  
  
"That's just great. Just great." The captain walked over to his chair, and sat down, before almost instantly standing up once again.  
  
He came up behind Click, "Well, what do you suggest that we do, then? Sit here and wait to die? Sit here and wait until some guy decides to blast us over to kingdom come?"  
  
Click fixed him with a glare that could have killed, "Never, Sir. I believe that the best course of action for us would be to take evasive maneuvers, no matter how futile that they may seem. If we don't then we won't stand a chance anyway."  
  
"Well then, keep on moving this great floating brick! I really don't want to see the water littered with the flesh and blood of the Colorado."  
  
"Aye sir."  
  
The entire ship began tense, wired, as the great motors slowly turned. Click's hands went white as they gripped onto the edge of her console.  
  
There was a blast that blinded..  
  
And silence....  
  
"And the took what amounted to around the power of a few tons of TNT in the form of twelve separate warheads. Half of the crew was lost, or died later as a result of injuries. Now, our job is to find out what went wrong. So if the command crew i.e. if there was any fault in the way that Capt. Strathown, Lt. Comdr. Richardson, Comdr. Varian or Click had done anything wrong." He outlined.  
  
Katherine looked at him in puzzlement, "Click?"  
  
Will looked up in embarrassment, "Lt. Tammy Crolleini. She's a radio whiz, the daughter of Italian immigrants, about five foot one, blonde hair that can't be controlled, and an attitude to match, her identical twin is Comdr. Varian, and they're one hell of a full on pair. Both are devious as anything, and the only reason that Click isn't a commander is because of the extra training that she took on top of the engineering that they both took. Varian had been married, as you can tell by the surname.." he drifted off at her look, "What? I went to the military college with them."  
  
"Yeah, right." Katherine said with a raised eyebrow, "Anyway, if you don't mind, I would like to keep on getting this into some kind of order. But can you tell me anymore about each of the primary crew members?"  
  
"Sure Now, as for the Captain..."  
  
Lunch came and passed, accompanied by boxes of Chinese take-away. As well as pictures and prints, tables and timelines were placed on the walls. Shelves became filled with books, brass knickknacks, and piles of files. An old vase took pride of place on Katherine's desk, right next to a file that looked as though it could have burst at any moment.  
  
As the afternoon progressed onwards, the stack of boxes lessened, but the heap of problems only got higher.  
  
Will was leafing through a booklet of papers, "Hey, Katherine, take a look at this! Have you noticed-"  
  
From across the other side of the bullpen, there came a cry. A door slammed shut, and a slim, dark hared in a Marine uniform just about raced out of the JAG headquarters. Not a soul dared move.  
  
For the first time in what seemed like an eternity,  
  
Sarah Mackenzie was crying.  
  
A/N: So What do you think???? I really like hearing what you people have to say, and I don't mind flames charring up my letter box.( By the way, the next chapter is under hostage until I have 5 reviews!!) Cya, Starlite1 


	2. Deal the hand

Disclaimer: Hey, I still am in possession of nothing, unless you count my computer. JAG is not mine. I'm just borrowing! A.N: Thanks again must go to Ms. Frizzle, who took time out of her vacation to beta for me, and to all those who are patient with me when I go on a writing spree. And thanks to EVERYBODY who reviewed! They really meant a lot. And thanks to all who have pointed out my crazy errors, and I am eternally grateful!  
  
Hope that you had a great Christmas, and a great New Year!  
  
So that's about all from me, and I really should get on with the story....  
  
A Little bit of Irish Luck, Chapter 2.  
  
By Starlite1  
  
Ten minutes earlier...  
  
Commander Harmon Rabb, II sat at his desk, in a state of shock. With hands that trembled, he picked up the mug of coffee that stood next to his picture frame of him and Mac in Afghanistan. The coffee had long ago gone cold, but that didn't make any difference. In one mouthful, he drained the cup.  
  
After that, he managed to haul himself to his feet, and make his way over to the window. The trees, bereft of their leaves slumbered under a blanket of ice and snow. Officers bustled back and forth through the grounds, each caught up within the tangles of their business.  
  
There came a knock at the door.  
  
"Come in!" Harm called out, still not turning away from the wintry view outside his window. He felt her come into the room, her very soul pervade throughout.  
  
"Hey flyboy. I was just wondering if you would like to come and grab some lunch with me, and go over some files..." her voice trailed off, "Harm, what's wrong?"  
  
With a sigh of someone who knows that a storm is about to break he said, " I'm sorry Mac, but I can't. I've got to make sure that I've got all of my affairs in order, and then there are a number of other things that I must get done." He chuckled a bitterly, "It's not as if I have enough time."  
  
Mac looked at Harm with her big, dark hazel eyes in confusion, "What the hell do you mean, Harm? Why do you have to put your things into order I mean-" realization hit her like a ton of bricks, "You've been deployed, haven't you?"  
  
"Yeah. I've been called up, and there is not a damned thing that I can do about it." he said  
  
For just a moment, they stood in a silence that was deafening. Mac finally spoke up, "When?"  
  
"The orders came through just over half an hour ago." He said with a sigh.  
  
Mac foundered for something to say, "Well, isn't there another JAG officer who could go? I mean, there are heaps of other people who have the same skills as you, and then there's Mattie..."  
  
"I'm not being called up as a JAG officer, Mac. They've called me up to fly."  
  
"NO!!!" she cried out, as the tears rolled down her face, and she spun on her heel before tearing out of the building.  
  
The entire bullpen fell silent, so much that a pin dropping would have sounded like a thunderclap hitting a ten foot ceremonial gong, and Harm stood at the door, watching as his best friend, his companion, his partner, his... Soul mate, and the only person he'd ever really given his heart to, and would have done anything to stop the pain for the woman who had just run out of the building.  
  
At that moment, he would have given anything to be able to take it all back.  
  
"I take it, from that display from the colonel, that you just told her about your deployment assignment." Said the Admiral from the doorway.  
  
"Right in one, Sir. And she, if you don't mind my frankness, sir, did not take it well. And if her reaction was bad, then I'm wondering about how Mattie's going to take it. And then, just to top it off, there are about a hundred different things that I need to get done before I fly out," he buried his head in his hands, "In all honesty, sir, this couldn't have come at a worse time for me."  
  
The Admiral came across to the desk, and sat down on the other side of the desk, "So what time are you flying out tomorrow?"  
  
"I leave tomorrow afternoon at 1700, sir."  
  
"Well, maybe if I give you the rest of the afternoon off, and that way you can go and pick Mattie up from school, instead of waiting until this evening. And then, that way you can also get the rest of your affairs in order. Anyway, it'll make it easier if you tell her now instead of later."  
  
"Thank you, sir! This really means a lot to me, and I'll try to make it up to you, sir!"  
  
He smiled, "Just come around to dinner when you get back, Harm. May Lady Luck smile on you."  
  
Quickly Harm gathered up his stuff, "Thank you once again, Sir."  
  
"Dismissed."  
  
Falls Church High school  
  
Falls Church, Virginia.  
  
1530 EST.  
  
Harm was waiting outside in his SUV when Mattie came out of school. She was in the middle of a group of her friends. Her face lit up at something said to her by a girl, whose dark hair reminded Harm quite a lot of Mac's. It was amazing to see the two of them interact. He gently honked the car horn, and Mattie broke off from her group of friends, before heading off to the car.  
  
"Hey Harm, what's up?" she said cheerfully as she clambered into the seat next to him, "And please don't tell me that you proposed to Mac without me there!"  
  
"What?!? You're crazy, Mattie, and that's in every sense of the word. " He sighed, "Well, if you really must know, today was pretty much a trip to hell and back. Mac stormed out on me about half an hour ago, one of my cases is gone down the pipe hole. Oh, and also I've been called up, and I fly out tomorrow at 1700. Other than that, there hasn't been that much which has happened."  
  
Mattie froze halfway through putting on her seat belt, "What do you mean?!? How-?Why-? I mean..."  
  
"Calm down, Mattie. I've been called up for duty in the Middle East. And, just so that I don't go through what happened with Mac, they've called me up to fly. And there's not a bloody way that I can get out of it." "So why did they call you up? I mean, there must be a pilot out there who is more qualified to do this then you!" she sighed, "Isn't there?"  
  
"They had to be pretty desperate to take me." He said glumly.  
  
"Well, do you have any idea when you'll be home?" she said desperately.  
  
"I don't know, Mattie, I honestly don't know."  
  
A/N: Well, so what do you think??? I'd really like to hear! Please review!! And, for those who have read chapter 1, and didn't like the idea of holding chapters hostage, well, thanks for the slap on the wrist, Lord knows that I deserve it. But, once again I am about to hit the books again, and this means that I will probably be a bit inconsistent with getting chapters out, but I will try to get a chapter out at least once a fortnight, if not once a week. Cya!! Starlite1 


	3. Knives and papers

A/N: Ok, here, as promised is the third installment. Thanks once again to my beta reader Ms. Frizzle. (You're an angel, Frizz!!) I still don't own JAG, or my bassoon, but if there's anyone out there who is searching for what to get me for Christmas this year...... Still, hope that you'll enjoy this!  
  
A Little bit of Irish Luck, Chapter 3.  
  
By Starlite 1.  
  
Katherine was intrigued. She had just seen Harm and Mac just about tear out of the building, barely twenty minutes apart from each other. And, if that wasn't enough, the Admiral had just called an emergency meeting of all the staff...  
  
Something was up. And that something was something pretty big.  
  
The congregation of officers who had invaded the bullpen were a strange mix of Navy blues, whites and Marine greens. Thrown into this was a scatter of civilian garb, in muted shades of brown, black and gray. And all were looking towards the door to the admiral's office. A strange sense of dreaded anticipation hung like a shroud over the JAG headquarters.  
  
"Admiral on deck!!!" Tiner called out. Almost instantly the group snapped to attention.  
  
It was with a somber face he took the floor, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hate being the bearer of bad news, but there are times when it is unavoidable. A few hours ago, orders came through which have sent Comdr. Rabb off to the Gulf. He leaves tomorrow. "  
  
Around Katherine, people exchanged looks of shock and horror. No-one had been expecting this at all.  
  
He paused for a second before continuing, "He will be flying for his country, and for everything that we believe in. We hope that Lady Luck will give him a smile, and keep his butt from being blown to Kingdom Come," a few smiled slightly at this, "And that he'll return to Jag with all of his appendages intact. But this also does leave a spot within our legal team. It means that there will have to be compensations to accommodate the Comdr.'s case load, and there will be more strain placed on everyone. There are times when the cards don't fall right, but the only thing we can do is deal with it, and this is what we will have to do. Dismissed."  
  
Katherine slowly walked back towards her office. She didn't really know Harm, and yet she could see how his imminent departure was already having affects on each and every person within the JAG staff.  
  
With a quick glance up at the clock, she navigated her way over to her desk, and flopped herself down in her chair. For just a moment, she closed her eyes, and relaxed.  
  
A knock at the door broke her from her reverie. She looked up to see Will standing in the doorway.  
  
"Hey." He said despondently.  
  
"Hey, Will. Come in. Anything that you want to talk about?" she said in concern.  
  
Quickly he came inside, and sat down across from her, "Just thinking about Comdr. Rabb's call up. For the few weeks since I arrived here, he's been showing me the ropes of the course, and, well, I just find it rather hard to imagine JAG without the man, and I'm not one of the people who have been here for god only knows how many years!"  
  
"I can understand that. Say, are you at all busy tonight?" she asked  
  
"Well, if you call reviewing old files and organizing my sock draw interesting" he said seriously, "..... Then yes! Otherwise I'm not."  
  
"Good, cause if you're interested, I know just where to go...." She said with a slight smile, "So what was it that you came here to talk about?"  
  
************ Rabb's apartment,  
  
Georgetown, VA.  
  
1800  
  
Harm was right in the middle of cooking dinner, when there came a knock at the door.  
  
"I'll get it!" he called out to Mattie. Quickly he slung a towel over his shoulder, before rushing to the door.  
  
Fingers fumbled on the lock, and the door opened to reveal Mac standing on the other side of the door, wrapped up in a long cloak, protection against the bitter cold.  
  
"Hi Harm. Look, I know that I'm probably imposing but I just came over to apolo-"she said.  
  
"Dinner's almost ready. Now come inside, before you freeze your butt off." He said in understanding.  
  
Mac looked up at him in befuddlement, "What do you mean, Harm? I mean, I don't really want to impose on you and Mattie, considering..."  
  
He gave her a quick half grin, "well I knew that you'd drop around, so I made enough pasta and sauce to feed you and us, and still have enough to put into the freezer. And it's colder than a freezer out there, so I suggest that you come in and warm up."  
  
"Thanks Harm."  
  
"Anytime."  
  
Mac came into the warmth of the apartment, quickly taking off her cloak, before taking a seat on the lounge. "So how did you know that I'd be coming round? I mean, it's not as if I called or anything like that to tell you."  
  
"Call it a lucky shot if you must, but even if you hadn't come over here, I would have called up to ask. Before I leave, I just... Argh! Sorry, I splashed a bit of hot water, and it hit me on the back of the hand! Damn that hurt like *&%@!!!" he cursed.  
  
"Are you sure you're all right?" Mac said, getting up and coming over to the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah, it's nothing. Still, dinner's ready. Mattie!" he called.  
  
"Coming!" Mattie called out, and with a thudding of feet, appeared in the living room. Her hair was a mess, and her socks were mismatched. Her shirt was a baggy comfortable lime green shirt, with stretch dance pants on underneath.  
  
"Nice outfit." Mac said calmly.  
  
Mattie just blushed. ***************  
  
Falls Church Community hall,  
  
Falls Church, VA  
  
1830.  
  
Colour and light adorned the warm hall, and people were stretching out their muscles, tightening laces, whilst exchanging the week's gossip. Will walked along beside Katherine, whose long hair had been pulled up into a tight bun, was smiling at people who waved as they saw her.  
  
"So, can you pitch it to me again? What are we doing here?" Will said in befuddlement.  
  
"This is simply a get together of the Irish community around this area. My aunt and uncle are the ones who generally organize it, and we have a party, talk and gossip, dance and-"she chatted.  
  
"You mean like the do in Riverdance? Because I can't dance like that." He stated flatly.  
  
She smiled, "Very few of us can. Some of us will do a few of the more complex dances, but this is about everyone, and that means that there's room for every single person here who wants to have some fun!"  
  
"Okaaay....." he said, still uncertain.  
  
She laid a reassuring hand on his arm, "Don't worry about it. Look, I'm going to go and change. See you in a bit." And with that, she walked off towards the change room.  
  
*** Falls Church community hall  
  
Once she was in the change room, She took out a second bag from her backpack. With a skill that had evolved from years' worth of practice, she slid out of her warm clothing, and into her Irish dress. It was something which had been handed down from her mother. The beadwork formed the Celtic patterns which had been part of her family for years, and the deep blue material fitted her perfectly. But she still winced as she slid it over her shoulder.  
  
Her feet felt decidedly better as they slid from the shoes that she wore for work. Her hands pulled on her taps, and light fingers laced them up tight.  
  
She walked out to find Will standing with her uncle, chatting like they had known each other for years, "Hey, seems like you found my uncle before I did. Uncle Jake, this is Will, a colleague of mine from work."  
  
"Nice to meet you. We're about to get this show on the road."  
  
"Good to talk to you again. By the way, how's the shoulder?" Jake questioned.  
  
She coughed in embarrassment, "Just about no change. Almost four years, and it's still as painful as ever."  
  
Will looked at her in puzzlement, "What-?"  
  
"Look, I'll explain later. Now, shall we go and find some seats?" she asked.  
  
******* Harm's apartment. 1915  
  
They sat round the table as they ate, whilst making plaintive attempts at idle small talk. Each was lost in their own world of thoughts.  
  
Well, if this isn't as cheerful as St. Patrick's. Mac thought to herself, Could probably walk on the tension.  
  
Mattie was picking at the remnants of her pasta. Harm was staring into oblivion, unaware of the world surrounding him. There seemed to be no way to lift the blanket of silence which had engulfed them.  
  
She sighed, got up from the table, scraped her plate and put it into the dishwasher.  
  
"Leave anything?" Harm said from the door. In his hand he had her glass, as well as his plate.  
  
"Oh. Sorry about that. I'm just a bit distracted, that's all." She replied miserably.  
  
"I understand. But do you think you could cope with sitting down with me to help out with the paperwork that I need to get into order before... well, before I take to the skies." He said sadly.  
  
"I guess so."  
  
**** Community hall. 1930  
  
The party was in full swing. Just about everybody was up dancing to the sound of fiddles, drums and pipes. In the middle of it all, Katherine and Will spun and twirled, feet flying and a look of pure joy on each of their faces. Katherine's eyes shone with delight, as wisps of her hair broke free of their restraints.  
  
Slowly the song wound down, and both walked back to their seat, where they collapsed with exhaustion. "Whew! That was absolutely crazy!" Will said with a smile. "Not half as crazy as it'll be after we've all eaten!" Katherine retorted with a smile. A bell rang, and everyone moved off towards the table. Stews, breads, pies, and roasts lined the table. Galleons of gravy, potatoes prepared in every way imaginable, corn, carrots, peas and beans mounted up before them. Katherine quickly grabbed their plates, before queuing up, and explaining the process to Will.  
  
"So what you do is you go in a clockwise direction, and you've got one shot to get what you want. You can come back later, but once you're on the cue, then you've got to keep moving, or else you can get some really dirty looks, and take it from someone who's been on the receiving end, you don't want that to happen. Oh, and save lots of room for dessert."  
  
"Okay... I guess I can live with that." he said with a small smile.  
  
****** Harm's apartment, 2000  
  
"So this is my will, and I basically try to keep it up to date, as for the rest of the files, once we've checked they're all correct, there are a few more things that I need you to sign but, they're not that many and nothing like the paperwork on the Colorado case is going to be."  
  
"Okay. So, just out of curiosity, what's going to happen to Mattie?" Mac questioned. "That was another thing that I wanted to talk to you about. Whilst I'm gone, would you be willing to be Mattie's caregiver? I mean, if you want, you could stay here, and I wouldn't mind if you used my bed. But you're just about the only person on the face of this planet who I'd trust. So could you do that, Please Mac." He just about pleaded. She sighed, "I suppose so. But I'm taking you up on that offer of staying here." Harm just gave her a gentle smile, before turning back to the paperwork.  
  
***** Stomachs filled, Katherine sat with Will, listening to the gossip that was flying round the table at what amounted to the speed of light. Schooners of beer flowed freely in the relaxed party mood. Everyone was listening to the punch line to one of Uncle Jake's infamous jokes, when Katherine began to feel the first small pinpricks in her shoulder. Damn it! I knew I'd gotten off easy, but why does it have to start being a pain in the butt right at this moment! She thought to herself miserably. She quickly stood up, and made her way back to the change rooms, stopping just long enough to grab her bag. Will watched her leave, and saw her expression. With his mind made up, he quickly followed her.  
  
********* Will entered the change room, to find Katherine sitting on a bench, her shoulder bared from the dress. Her face showed she was just about in pure agony. And it was really no wonder. The scars on her shoulder, three massive, deep and not quite healed gashes, were flaring. Almost immediately, he was next to her, "Hey, you all right? I know it's a stupid question, but are you....?"  
  
With tears streaming down her face, "Not really. The painkillers must have worn off. I wasn't quick enough to get to my bag to get them out."  
  
"So you can't move your arm?" he asked. She nodded silently with a grimace. He quickly went digging into her bag, and produced a pack of prescription pain killers  
  
"How many?"  
  
"Two."  
  
"Water?"  
  
"Just forget about it!" she hissed, grabbing the proffered painkillers. She gulped them down her throat, and closed her eyes, desperately waiting for them to kick in............  
  
*********  
  
A/N: Hey! I'm reeeeaalllly sorry to all those people who have been waiting for this chapter, but it is the longest that I've ever gotten my butt around to writing. For those who have been grumpy about the idea of holding chapters hostage, well, they just won't be held hostage anymore (Also, not having Free speech is a violation of the UDHR!) Anyway, work is now catching up to me, and I now do not have a day to myself. Officially, and that includes all weekends! Who knows? I may actually get some sleep between now and the next chapter's publication. Happy belated St. Patrick's! Cya, Starlite1 ( 


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